As a business owner for over two decades, I can confess firsthand that I spent most of my years as an entrepreneur ignoring my mental and emotional health. And I am willing to bet you can say the same, no matter how long you’ve been running your own business. 

And it’s not your fault.

You’ve been told for so long that in order to be successful you have to surrender all of yourself to get there. All of your time, your sanity, your peace, and your well-being have been placed on the back burner simply because you believe that in order to truly make it as an entrepreneur, you have to work yourself into the ground. And you’ve all done it for far too long. 

To be honest with you, the decline starts at the very beginning and you usually never even see it. You have an idea or a dream and you go all in. Mentally, emotionally, physically, and maybe even financially. Everything you do or think about is centered around this new business because it’s fun and exciting and honestly, it’s your desire to spend all of your energy on this new thing. 

But here is the biggest problem with hustle culture: 

You don’t even see it happening. One day you look up from your computer screen and realize that you’ve been convincing yourself that lack of sleep and skipping time with your family and neglecting your health are normal and that it’s simply what you have to do in order to build a successful business. 

And before you know it, your tank is empty, you’re completely depleted, and you don’t even know where you would start to repair the mental and emotional damage that has been done. 

As I sit here and share all of this with you, I can’t help but think of my latest webinar that I created to help entrepreneurs learn how to become more profitable, but I really think its purpose may be to teach you how to run a business with great joy and zero hustle guilt. In the webinar, I share about two different types of entrepreneurs and I would love for you to check it out! 

TAKE THE FREE WEBINAR HERE

But this story of losing yourself in your business or having no time for your personal life is something I hear a lot and I’ve also lived it. For a long time. 

I spent far too many years living it. Stuck between the stresses of burnout and the “I have to make this work.” The scarcity mindset set in and pushed me to make decisions for my business that I might not have made if I was operating from a place of abundance and energy. 

If you feel like you’ve been stuck under the trap of a hustle and scarcity mindset for too long, I have a few tips for you to put into practice in order to find yourself living a life of abundance where this is no such thing as limits on what you can achieve. Including, caring for your mental and emotional well-being. 

Okay, so let’s dive right in!

Set goals and make them grand.

Write out a list of the best-case scenario things that can happen in your business and make a plan to achieve them.

The sky’s the limit here. What is your big, scary, overarching goal or experience you’re working for? Write it down. In big, bold, even sparkly letters, if you must, and put it right in front of you. 

Seriously, write it down. Right now. 

Now tape it to your computer, frame it on your desk, heck, even write it on your mirror. Put it anywhere that you will see it each and every day. And when the work feels too hard, look to this reminder to give you the energy to keep moving forward. To keep doing the work. To keep saying “yes” when all roads seem to lead to “not now”.

Find something to work towards. 

Why do you get out of bed each morning and work so hard on your business?

Maybe you want to travel multiple times each year. Maybe you want to pay cash for your children’s college education. Maybe you want to rid your family of debt. Maybe you want to do great things in your community. Maybe you want to build your dream home. Maybe you want to make an impact in your neighborhood. Maybe it’s expanding your business or starting something new. Whatever it is, find something to work towards beyond your everyday needs in order to care for your mental and emotional health. 

Whatever it is, find what it is that drives you and gets you out of bed each morning. Whenever the hard work or the hustle has bogged you down and clouded your view, be sure to reconnect to what you work for each and every day!

Take time for yourself. 

It’s really easy to get to the burnout point if you aren’t intentionally mindful of your boundaries and stay focused on a positive mindset. 

You MUST take time for yourself to rest, reconnect with your true self, and spend time focused on things and people outside of work. You have to allow yourself to step away both physically and mentally and just be you. Dream of things and set goals outside of your work and remember that you were an individual long before you were an entrepreneur. 

This list could go on and on, but I truly believe these 3 tips will take you a long way when it comes to creating an abundance mindset in order to care for your mental and emotional health. If you are intentional about taking better care of your health and you practice these 3 steps on a daily basis, I do believe you’ll see vast improvements in both your mental and emotional health. 

I say it all the time simply because it’s the truest quote for entrepreneurs to remember in such a fast-paced, success-driven world: “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” So I hope you are walking away feeling encouraged and inspired to pour into your own cup for a change and take control of your health, both mentally and emotionally!